A few of my favorite things...

Since my last blog was all about my all time favorite projects, I thought I'd follow it up with a blog about my favorite things right now.  That's always fun, right?!

Lately I've decided I really like white and gold.

I've been wanting white pillows with gold polka dots for over a year and I finally splurged and got them for myself and gave them to my husband to have my kids give them to me for Christmas.  Ha!

Mine are from Anthropologie, (I snagged them when they were having a 20% off sale) but I just saw some very similar ones on sale at Pottery Barn.  I'm also still loving those faux fur pillows (behind the polka dot pillows) that I got last year from Restoration Hardware. They happen to be on sale now too!

Since I'm on a white/gold kick, I recently got these two new coffee cups.

The one on the left is from Target (in the Valentine's Day section) and the one on the right is from World Market.  Love them both!

When I'm at home, I usually like to wear slippers around the house.  My favorite slippers that I've had forever were falling apart and so sadly I started the hunt for new slippers.  I've ordered and returned a few different pairs (because I'm a tad picky) until I finally found these from Abercrombie & Fitch.  It looks like they're out of this color, but they still have some in red plaid, which are cute too! So cozy, warm, and comfortable.

While we're on the subject of cozy and comfortable, these leggings from Gap are amazing.  I have 3 pair because I love them so much.  They are the perfect lounge pants for Saturdays and Sundays.  Since they're fitted, they're cute instead of slouchy like most lounge/sleeping pants.  I've also found that they retain their shape well and don't get all stretched out and saggy easily. 

We've had our faux sheepskin throw from Pottery Barn for a few years now and it's still a favorite for snuggling on the couch and staying warm!

Another favorite from Gap, is this vest  that I wore on GMA (pictured below) is a favorite of mine right now.  And here's a lesson… never buy anything from Gap not on sale because it will eventually go on sale.  Also, wait for promo codes (and Gap Rewards) to use on top of the sale price. Anyway, I love vests and I wear them all the time.  They're a fun and an easy way to add an extra layer to your outfit.

Also, these Sperry Duck Boots that I'm wearing in the above picture are a favorite. When I found out I was going to be on GMA, naturally, I went to the mall to shop for something to wear.  I texted my sister-in-law, Ashley to help me decide on the shoes.  I didn't know if I wanted tall boots, short boots, or what style of boots.  I needed help! So we texted pictures back and forth until we decided on these.  I love them because they're so versatile.  They're cute, but super warm, and also comfortable. I walked all over NYC in these things and my feet did not ache or have blisters at the end of the day.  The sad thing was that nobody saw my cute boots on t.v. because I was standing behind a table the entire time.  haha! 

Here's a close up.  

And lastly, another pair of boots I just love are my hunter boots.  When I bought them a few years ago, I wasn't sure how much I would actually wear them.  But I find myself wearing them regularly…. they're great in the rain and in the snow or even just out working in the yard.

Last September, I got them out to clean them up and get them ready to wear in the Fall.  I had read on Pinterest that Goo Gone would work great, so I sprayed my boots and wiped them down, but I didn't really notice a difference.  They didn't look cleaner or shinier.  So Tim said that he had something much better that would work.  He got out his engine degreaser (for cars) and sprayed it all over my boots.  Then when he started scrubbing them, the rubber started rubbing off!!  I was horrified!  They looked like this afterwards.

Awful. Awful.  I was so sad.  Several times, I almost bought new boots, but I hated to spend the money for the exact same pair that I already had.  I tried a few different things (like olive oil) to bring back the shine, but nothing worked.  I thought they were doomed.  And then one day, (I had actually been praying about it.  Yes, that is how much I love these boots.) and it hit me to use Tim's car tire shine.  It shines rubber tires, so maybe it would shine rubber boots!  At this point, it couldn't hurt, right?  So I tried it.  And y'all!  It worked!!

I was ecstatic.  I love these boots!  There are so many colors to choose from, it's hard to decide, but I love that mine are a neutral color because they go with so many different outfits.

Okay, what about you.  Do you have any favorite things that I need to know about?

Favorite Projects of All Time

I thought it would be fun to take a look back at some of my all time favorite projects over the years.  I wanted to include "Then" and "Now" (or at least more recent) pictures too so you can see how my home and style has evolved over the years.

First up:  An old window turned picture frame

I did this five years ago back before it was all the rage.  I don't think Pinterest even existed then.  So it's highly possible that I invented the whole window picture frame thing. Ha! :)  I remember feeling like it was such a big risk.  And Tim totally thought I had lost it when I told him what I wanted to do with the old window I had drug home from an antique store.

Then:

And now

My faux fireplace transformation

You must know by now that I love fireplaces.  In my last home, I didn't have one, so I decided to make one…. a fake one anyway.  I bought a mantle off of Craigslist and brought it home to see what I could come up with.  At first it didn't look so great!

After some brainstorming, I ended up putting a chalkboard behind it and drawing a fire on it to make it feel more cozy.

Then:

Over the years, it's had many transformations.  At the moment, I'm not using it because I decided to move my desk upstairs and there is only so much room.  Some days I miss it and want to bring it back up.  But here's a look at some more recent pictures of it....

Do you remember when we needed a coffee table so we decided to build our own chunky distressed coffee table ?

I still love it.

Right now, we have it in our basement because it fits so well with our other furniture down there.

The kitchen coffee bar/buffet

Then:

The turquoise was fun, but it felt limiting at times.  So back in October, I decided to re-paint it a more neutral color. Here's a recent picture.

Painting the Brick Fireplace

When we moved in, our fireplace looked like this

Before:

Painting it made an immediate and dramatic difference.

Then:

Since that picture was taken, Tim put up a mantle for me.

And Now:

Peyton's Barbie Dollhouse

I still love this project.  I had so much fun making it for her.

I'll spare you a "Now" picture because I'm pretty sure that Barbie's house is a disaster and she needs a maid to come clean it up for her.  And most likely, Barbie is naked and would not like me taking pictures of her and posting them on the internet.  :)

Hope you had fun looking back with me.  Does your style evolve too over the years?  What's your favorite project you've ever done in your home?